Adrian Stoian, just another typical Romanian talent?

Socks pulled above the knees, plus a constant care about how the shirts covers his otherwise fragile upper body, with extra care for his flashy haircut (shaved on the sides and at the back, long enough on top to have it in the eyes every once in a while) – this is the way Adrian Stoian “listened” to the national anthem before Romania U21 – Slovakia U21. He was the only player coming from abroad in a Romanian first eleven fueled by relegated teams like Sportul Studentesc, FCM Targu Mures and CS Mioveni. An average team in terms of talent, but the type of squad that should only help him stand out even more. A couple of runs down the left flank, one decent cross, a well placed shot and another poor attempt from long range animated the first half. In the second, he did a lot less, but got the penalty that allowed Mihai Radut to open Romania’s account and show the way to a second consecutive 2-0 win against Slovakia. In both, he rested when the others were defending, rearranged his shirt, pulled up his socks over his precious knees and, after Romania scored the opener, ran to the bench and desperately asked for a bottle of water. It wasn’t that hot, quite on the contrary, and he wasn’t that thirsty either: but he needed it to fix the hair messed-up by the spectacular fall inside the penalty box…

Is this THE Adrian Stoian? The little winger who impressed at Bari, who belongs to AS Roma and is wanted not only by a few other Serie A clubs, but also by Zenit St Petersburg? Probably not. He probably gives a lot more at club level (featured in 29 matches last season) and will probably get a break at some point in a bigger club. But will he cope with that move?

Denis Alibec, a player I saw pull something similar at U19 level for Romania, a year before he got the chance to feature in a couple of games for Inter Milano, in Serie A, tells me that Stoian needs to have a serious look in the mirror and not to admire once again his tattoo and haircut. Because Alibec managed to shot himself in the foot in no time: failing to impress in Milano, was sent on loan to Mechelen, where he lasted for a dozen of matches before being kicked out of the club, and is now hoping that someone else will offer him another chance to start over.

Alibec and Stoian are both 21. Hopefully for their otherwise promising careers, I’m talking only about their age, not their IQ’s…

Recently I was having a conversation with my friend about when Romania didn’t make the Euros and when/if they’ll make another major tournament. Basically my point was that they don’t/won’t because of the poor attitudes of their players coupled with the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the big clubs (in particular, their owners). Would you agree?

Radu Baicu

• 15 years of continuous work in scouting, for top clubs and companies;
• Worked for clubs like Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Hannover 96, covering the Romanian market;
• Worked for Birmingham based company ‘The Scouting Network’ (www.tsn.co.uk) as a football scout;
• Worked for Zurich based company Boutique Football as a scouting network coordinator;
• International scout for Young Boys Bern for 2 years, covering Eastern European football.
• Working for the past 5 years as an international scout for a top French club.